BACOLOD City – Kabankalan City Airport’s runway is set for another 600-meter expansion, and around 100 families living in the vicinity will be affected.
The expansion is to accommodate bigger aircraft and is part of the requirements set by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
Kabankalan City Mayor Benjie Miranda said the families, all of whom are informal settlers living on the airport property, need to be relocated.
The relocation is not being opposed by the residents, but under the condition that the city government will help them settle down somewhere else.
Miranda revealed that there is a one-hectare available property located in the city’s Barangay Hilamonan.
The city mayor also disclosed that he has already received two letters of intent from two companies proposing to establish a flying school at the airport.
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental 6th district Rep. Mercedes Alvarez said the completion of the airport still needs around P850 million.
The Kabankalan City government currently shells out P10 million annually for the airport’s development, aside from the P40 million in allocated funds.
Alvarez also previously said she is lobbying for more funds from CAAP and the Department of Transportation to complete the airport.
At present, Kabankalan City Airport has a 1,400-meter runway, and extending by another 600 meters will allow planes as big as the Airbus A320 to land at the airport.
The airport sits on a 104-hectare property in Barangay Hilamonan.
In August of last year, Miranda expressed optimism that the airport will be completed in 2024, provided that the project runs smoothly. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
